𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Yesterday, we got a masterclass. (Stick around for the part where the Avengers come in...)
We hosted an intimate fireside chat with two incredible Hearst leaders: Eve Burton, EVP, Chief Legal Officer, and HearstLab Chairwoman, and Katie Vanneck, CEO of Hearst UK. The conversation was candid, sharp, and exactly what you'd expect from two people who have actually done the work.
A few things that stayed with us:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. Katie has a framework for this, and it's the Avengers. Every person on the team is a superhero in their own right, but the magic really happens when they assemble. As Katie put it: The team is everything. "When Avengers assemble, you can save the world."
𝗡𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝘀. Katie has spent her career reframing the question until the old answer stops making sense. During her time in newspapers, conventional wisdom held that people wouldn't pay for news online. Her reframe: people pay for what they value — so how do you build something worth paying for? The result was the first digital paywall at a non-business, English-language newspaper, a model now standard across quality journalism worldwide.The same instinct played out closer to home at Hearst, where she reframed the UK operation as a "house of brands, not a branded house" and delivered a sense of belonging for customers that goes beyond subscription.
𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁. Katie noticed early in her career that traditional, long boardroom tables had a way of making clear who mattered and who didn't. Every table she's put in a room since has been round, making space for all voices. The principle behind it scales: "If you share power, your power and influence grows. The more you share it, the more you have it." For women leaders especially, that's not just a management philosophy — it's a responsibility.
We also ended with a rapid-fire round:
⚡️ 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆? "Maintaining your energy. If you don't maintain it, you can't scale a business."
⚡️ 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮? "Always. Data gives you a pattern, but it's not the answer."
⚡️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿? "Goodbye." That one landed.
Thank you to Eve and Katie for a morning of honest answers and the kind of clarity that only comes from experience. And thank you to everyone from the HearstLab community who joined us.
